Bangkok bar fire kills at least 27, sparks safety calls

Smoke raced through Rong Beer Na Lat Phrao in Bangkok’s Chatuchak district shortly before midnight Sunday, turning a night of music into a mass-casualty fire that killed at least 27 people and injured dozens more. The venue, a beer hall, bar and restaurant, filled with smoke within seconds and became difficult to move through, leaving people scrambling for any way out.

Thai indie band Thotsakan was onstage when band manager Ice Athipat Wijarn saw smoke rising from behind the keyboardist. The keyboardist shouted for people to flee, and Ice struggled to open a door in the smoke before an explosion threw him out of the bar. Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said a musician told him the smoke appeared to come from a circuit breaker near the stage, then the power failed, an explosion followed and thick smoke spread through the room.

Sixty-three people were taken to hospital, with 22 or 25 in critical condition. Thai forensic police were searching the burned site Monday morning for clues, and Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt said investigators would examine the ceiling materials and any emergency exits that may have been blocked. Photos from the scene showed blown-out windows, charred instruments and debris, while many victims were found in the restrooms at the back of the bar.

The dead included nine men and 18 women, and at least one foreign victim identified so far was Laotian. Nurses handed out face masks near the scene as monks prayed nearby. The disaster is Thailand’s deadliest fire in about 17 years and the worst since the Santika nightclub fire during New Year celebrations in 2009.